4th Straight Ecc Title For Lehigh Tennis

Consistency, or the lack of it, can make or break a team. Consistency has made the Lehigh University women's tennis team a four-time East Coast Conference Champion.

The Engineers recently captured their fourth straight crown, which means they have won it each year the conference has held women's tournaments. In this year's tourney, five of Lehigh's singles and all three doubles teams secured championships.

"It's hard to play your best all the time, but my girls did that," said fifth-year coach Karen Adams. "It's a real credit to them. All my seniors played very well. I was pleased."

Lehigh posted a 9-2 regular season mark, then collected 48 points to win the tournament. Delaware was second with 24, followed by Lafayette with 23, Towson with 15, Bucknell with 13, Drexel with six and a half and Rider with a half.

Beth Dale was the Engineer not to win a singles crown. She lost a close No. 1 contest in the semifinals to eventual champion Laura Leroy of Delaware. The junior compiled a 16-8 overall record in singles.

Dale gained some consolation by winning a doubles title with partner Kris Yuracko. The duo beat Lafayette's Karen Urban and Tracy Krauser in the ECC finals for a 9-1 overall mark.

Yuracko, a senior, won the No. 2 singles title when she beat Lynn Bartolet of Delaware. Overall, she was 20-1. No. 3 singles player Donna Armenio, a junior, won her position crown by defeating Bucknell's Wendy Howlett in the final. Armenio was 11-2 overall.

Senior Gail Brennan won at No. 4 singles, getting by Lafayette's Stacy Bradford. Overall, Brennan was 11-1. Senior Margot Garant was a champion at No. 5 singles, beating Diane Antonicelli of Lafayette and posting an overall record of 9-4. And at No. 6, sophomore Jamie Cohen beat Jackie Laraby of Lafayette for the title. Overall, Cohen was 17-5.

Brennan and Armenio defeated Jean Atkins and Ingrid Delatori of Delaware to win the No. 2 doubles crown. Overall they were 12-1 as a partnership. Garant and junior Denise Durando, who underwent extensive rehabilitation for knee surgery over the summer, won the No. 3 doubles title when they beat Antonicelli and Laraby of Lafayette. Overall they were 12-3.

Yuracko noted that the women on the team "all got along well," which helped them play well. "Everyone was very supportive of everyone else."

For the first time ever, Lehigh was represented in the Eastern Championships, which included winner Penn State, Trenton, Rutgers and West Virginia. Yuracko and Brennan won the consolation finals at No. 1 doubles. The pair beatteammates Garant and Armenio in their final match. Each couple had to play seven matches to get to the consolation match. Adams considered the match the best performance her team has ever achieved in a tournament.

"Our success should help my recruiting," Adams reasoned. "This year there will be more openings because I have so many seniors who will graduate. The kids do pretty well in spite of having a heavy academic load. But they budget their time and fit in a few other things besides tennis."

Adams, who is also the Women's Athletic Director, said she will keep coaching the sport, for now. "Winning is great, but mostly, coaching keeps me in touch with the kids, with their needs. If the administrative load doesn't get too heavy, I want to keep coaching."

And winning. There's nothing wrong with consistency when you're in the winner's seat.